Gas-producer.



PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

E. D. HOPGROFT.

GAS PRODUCER.

APPLICIATION FILED 00129. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 872,625. PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907. E. D. HOPGROFT.

GAS PRODUCER. APPLICATION FILED 00T.9.1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFroE.

ERhESIv DIGBY HOPCROFT, OF BRIDGEPOR'I, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THEHOPCROFT GAS PRODUCER 00., OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

GAS-PRODUCER.

naeraezs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3,1907.

Application filed October 9. 1906. Serial No. 338.133;

To all 2071 am it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST DIGBY HoP- CROFT, a subject of the King ofthe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Bridgeport,in the county of Fairfield and Stateof Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas- Producers, of which the'lollowing is a speci amount being consumed and drawn from the apparatusat any given time.

A further object is to provide such an apparatus with means whereby theexhaust from the engine or other means consuming the gas generated, willbe discharged into the retort through a' channel in communication with asource of vapor supply, and'the velocity of the flow of said exhaustwill so regulate and control the volume of such vapor entering saidchannel as to preserve the proper proportion of said vapor and saidproducts of combustion irrespective of the variance in the quantity ofgas being produced.

A still further object is to provide a producer'which-by reason of theintroduction of heated va ore and the products of combustion, will ecapable of producing powergas in such quantities and of such quality asto resultin an economical maintenance and opration of the producer. J

' A still further object is to provide a producer, the constructionandarrangement of whichwill be such as t'o be reasonably safeguardedagainst fire risks and other risks incidental to the maintenance of anisolated gas producer plant.

A still further objectis to. provide a producer wherein liquidfrom-which the vapors are generated maybe furnished from time to timewith chemicals in a solution in a manner to impart to the vaporsthosechemical properties which will tend to increase the quantity andimprove the quality of the gases released from the incandescent coal.And a still further object is to provide a producer of this characterwhich will be simple in design and in its mode of operation andauton-iatic in all respects exce t the removal of the coal supply andthe c eansing of the washers, scrubbers and driers.

The invention consists in the novel' fea tures of construction"hereinafter set forth and described and moreparticularly pointed out inthe claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings 2 Figure 1 is a vertical section. of theretort of a producer and of one of the auxiliary tanks, embodyingmyinvention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof on a smaller scale, andFig. 3 1s a plan view of the device as shown in Fig. 2.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout .the several vie'ws.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, I have-shown ata a retort having a hopper b for a reserve, coal supply at the-topthereof. This hopper has a cover I) for the top thereof and an invertedbowl shaped gate 0 closing the bottom thereof and opening into theretort a. A weighted lever c is pivoted to or adjacent to the hopper I)and is connected to the gate 0 by a link 0", a construction andarrangement which permits the contents'of the hopp er to be dumped intoand distributed in, the retort while the hopper is closed, thus avoidingthe escape of noxious gases when the retort is being recharged. A firegrate d is arranged adja cent to the bottom of said retort;

VVit-hin the upper part of the retort ct is a water-tight tank 0 whichis so positioned as to be subjected to the heat generated within theretort, thus-vaporizing the water contained therein. A small air-pipe,as 9 communioates with this so that the vapor may, if desired be, mixedwith air in said tank. In practice, however, I find that enough airenters through the cracks'tabout the covers of the various openingsinthe retort a, and that Iseldom have to rely upon the pipe. 'Adjacentto the said vapor tank is a smaller tank e adapted 'to contain chemicalsin solution which are discharged into the tank 6 as required, the vWaterfor said tank passing through said chemical tank and beingitutomaticallyfed, thereto by the actuation of a float valve 6 1 The retort a issurrounded by an outer metallic casing a between which and the outerwall of the retort is a space for air, which prevents the excessiveheating of the outer casing. The retort as is customary with producersof this character, is hned with fire clay. The lower part of the spacebetween the walls of the retort is in communication with the interiorofthe retort below the grate (1 through a plurality of small passages as athrough which the mixture of vapor from thetanke and hydrogen gases'andother products of combustion from 'the source of consumption of thegases generated pass to the base of the coal pile within the retort,from the said'space; f

'The casing a and retort a are rovided with openings, not shown, for rag the coal in starting and removing the ash; and a pipe f having anydesired form of protected discharge nozzle f within said retort andabove the grate d is in communication with a blower f 3 preferably handoperated, whereby the atmoelpheric air may be forced through the co pilein starting.

Within the tank 2 is a perforated drumig. This drum is in communication.with the lower space about said retort through a pipe g, the outlet ofwhich is controlled by an ordinary damper plate 9 having a stem gprojecting through the casing a. i p

Communicating with the space below the damper g is a blower casing itwithin which is mounted awheel h having a plurality .of vanes h eachpresenting rearwardly a dished surface. Actuatedfrom the shaft of saidwheel is an ordinary centrifugal governor 'i so connected to the damperstem 9 by the leversystem '2" as to open said damper proportionately tothe increased speed of rotation of the wheel h".

The casing h is in cominunication with the exhaust of an internalcombustion engine not shown through a pipe 71 thus causing the engineexhaust to'pass through'the casing-h actuating the wheel h thereinthrough the vanes ]L2, and the dam er 9 to the space about the lowerpart 0' the retort adjacent to the discharge end of the pipe 9 Where itmixes with the vapor discharged from said pipe and becomes diffusedabout the said re-' with one chamber of w 'ch the tanks 1' and 7acommunicate, and a pipe n between the upper partof the tanks 7c and LThe tank Z discharges into a second chamber in the box m.

The tank 7' is in connection with the upper box m, the openin s insaidbottomfor the gas,-

part of the retort a through a pipe 0 and the second chamber in the box'm is in communication with an internal combustion engine through. apipe 0 thus providing a continuous circulation channel from the enginecylinder through the exhaust thereof, the pipe b the casing h, thechamber about the lower. part of the-retort a, the retort' itself, theseveral tanks 3', 1c, 1 and the pipe 0 to the inlet port of the engine.

The tank 7' has a water distributor y" at the top thereof and an outletpipe 3' passing from the bottom thereof'and discharging into a tank phavingan outlet above the discharge end of said pipe j thus forming awater seal preventing the escape. of the gases through said pipe. f

The bottom of the tank 3' is dished as shown to prevent the waterpassing to the being above the -liioll. t l '0 Each; ofthe tanks 4', kand Z is provided with a'plurality of grates 1'2 dividing it into threecommunicating compartmeiits' each of ottom of said dished porwhich has ahand hole as 3 closed by a face plate indicated at 4 whereby theifilling therein may berenioved and replaced.

The two upper compartmentsof the tank jare filled with coke or 'someothersimilar porous substance and the lowermost compartment'with agranulated non-porous substance, as cork, through all of which waterpercola'tes serving to condense and wash and scrub the gas passingtherethrough. The compartments of the tank k are fille with an 3absorbent substance loosely packed therein, thus serving to dry scruband dry the as. The compartments of the tank 1 are led with a dry andhighly absorbent substance capable of acting as a final filter and dryscrubber and drier for the gases.

The operation of the herein'described producer is substantially asfollows: In starting, a.fire is built upon the grate d andcdal-introduced to the retort in such quantities as may be required tosecure an incandescent body of coal sufiicient to maintain a slowcombustion within the retort. Thereafter the retort is closed and thefire permitted to Smolder until the Water in the tank 6 is partlyvaporized. Atmospheric air is then forced through this body of coal bymeans of the-hand blower f pi e f and the discharge nozzlej thereof, tore ease the carbonic acid gases in the. coal and mix with them theconstituent gases of the air to produce a combustible mixture fortheinitial charge for the engine or other source of power utilizing thisgas. These producers have their highest efiiciency in connectionwithinternal combustion engines and the continuous operation of the producerwill be described in connection therewith. The producer, however, may beused in various connections with economy, and it is not my intention toin temperature within the retort a thus inany way limit the uses of theinvention to such engines. A quantity of free gas having' been thusliberated within the retort d, the

engine is started and the suction of the piston draws this gas or aportion thereof through the pipe 0 and the tanksj 7c and l and pipe 0.1n the first of these tanks, j,

it is thoroughly washed, condensed and scrubbed. In the tank 7c to whichthe gas passes through the box m, it is dry scrubbed andedried to agreat extent, andin the tank lit receives a further dry scrubbing anddrying and a final filtration preparatory to passing to the engine. Thewater constantly percolating through the filler of the tank not onlyserves to wash the gas, but to carry away through the pipe and tank 2)some of the tar' and other by-products deposited on the said filler. Theexhaust of the engine is forced through the pipe k to the casing h whereit rotates the wheel it through the vanes 71 thereon, passing from saidcasing to the space about the retort. The speed of rotation of the wheelis governed by the velocity of the, exhaust, and as the centrifugalvgovernor is actuated thereby, the damper plate 9 is openedto an extenttoallow vapors formed-in the tank e to pass from the pipe 9 and mix withthe incoming products of combustion. This mixture becomes diffused aboutthe lower part of the retort'and with each successive cycle of theengine, is drawn through the openings a and the entire body ofincandescent coal, serving to disrupt the carbon elements and form amixture of the carbonic acid gases, carbon monoxi'd, hydrogen andnitrogen, which produces a highly combustible mixture and one havingsuch power as to insure high efficiency, and economy. The water in thetank e isreplenislied from the chemical tank e from time to time, suchchemicals being employed as will .give to said water .and the s'team'generated therefrom, those properties best calculated to give the bestresults 1n operating the apparatus.

It will be observed that the greater the power developed by the engine,the larger wlll be the quantity of gas withdrawn from the producer, andthe greater the volume of the exhaust gases discharged through thecasingh, the velocity of the flow also bein increased. As the governoris actuate through the velocity of theflow of the exhaust gases, withthe increase of said velocity and consequent increase of the volume ofsuch gases passed through thecasing h, the damper gtwill be opened so asto insure the feeding of a proportionately increased volume of steamthrough the pipe 9- to secure a uniform mixture of the gases passedthrough the openings a to the retort. The passage of an increased volumeof this mixture through the pile of coal will raise the creasing thevolume of steam generated.

to that demanded, and the quality of the mixture, and of the gasesproduced willremain substantially the same.

When it is required to renew the supply of" coal, or recharge theretort, the cover I) is opened and the hopper b filled with coal, the

said cover then being replaced and secured in place. Thehandle c is thenraised dropping the gate 0 from the mouth of the hopper and permittingthe coal to enter the retort. It will be observed that the gate 0 willnormally seal the hopper mouth thus preventing the escape of the gaseswhen the lid If-is raised.

It is-not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details ofconstruction heretofore described, it being apparent that such detailsmay be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

Having described the invention, what 1 claim as new and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent is '1. In a gas producer, the combination ofa retort, means in communication therewith whereby gas generated thereinis washed, scrubbed and dried, ,a distributing chamber in communicationwith the lower part of said retort, a vapor tank, means whereby saidtank is placed in communication with said chamber, means whereby gasesare introduced to said chamber in volume proportionate to the quantityof gas drawn from said retort including a blower casing, a wheel mountedtherein having vanes whereby said gases will rotate said wheel, agovernor actuated by said wheel, a damper plate or valve, andconnections between said governor and said plate or valve whereby thevolume of steam admitted to said chamber is automatically controlled topreserve the proportions of said vapor and said gases in the mixture insaid chamber.

2. In a gas producer,,the combination of a retort, means incommunication therewith whereby gas generated therein is washed,scrubbed and dried, a distributing chamber in communication with thelower .part of said retort, a vapor tank, a tank adapted to containchemicals in communication with said vapor tank, means whereby said tankis placed in communication with said chamber,

means whereby gases are introduced to said chamber in volumeproportionate to the ql-uantity of gas drawn from said retort inc udinga blower casing, a wheel mounted therein having vanes whereby said gaseswill rotate said 'wheel, a centrifugal governor actuated by said Wheel,a damper plate or valve, and connections between said gov" ernor andsaid plate or valve whereby the volume of steam admitted to said chamberis automatically controlled to preserve the pro' portions of said vaporand said gases in the mixture in said chamber.

' 3. In a gas producer-,the combinationof a retort, means incommunication therewith scrubbed and dried, a distributing chamber incommunication withdhe'lower part of said retort, a 'vapor tank, meanswhereby ases are introduced to said chamber-in vo ume proportionate tothe quantity .ofgas. drawn om said retort including a perforated drum,a2" pipe leading therefrom, and openi into said chamber, a damper plateor'va ve in said pipe, a blower casing communicating with saidchamber, awheel therein having vanes whereby isaid gases will rotate said awheel/1a centrifugal governor actuated by 2.0

soid, wheel and connectionsbetween said governor andsaid damper'plate'01 valve whereby -,the volume-of steam admitted to said chamber isautomatically controlled to 4; a gas producer, the combination of apreserve" the proportions of said vapor and said asesin the mixture insaid chamber.

' retort, means in communication therewith whereby the as generatedtherein is washed, scrubbed an dried, a pipe leading theree from to theinlet port of'an internal combustion engine, a distributing chamber incommunication with the lower part of said retort, a vapor tank,meanswherebyases ;;are introduced to said-chamber in v0 ume Iroportionate to the quantity of gas drawn whereby gas generated thereinis washed,

om said retort including a perforated drum in-said vapor tank," a andopening into sai the exhaust port of a gas engine, a wheel mounted insaid casing having vanes whererotate said wheel, a centrifugal governoractuated by said wheel, and connections between said governor and saiddamper plate '01' valve whereby the volume ofsteam ad mitted to said,.chamber is automatically controlled to preserve theproportions of saidvapor and said gases in the mixture in said chamber.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed -my signature, 8th day ofOctober, 1906,

gipe leading therefronr chamber, a damper plate or valve in said pipe, ablower casing, communicating with said chamber and with .by the exhaustgases from said engine will

